The Be Wiser Ducati Racing Team heads for Brands Hatch in Kent this weekend for round three of the 2016 MCE British Superbike Championship with both Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and Glenn Irwin in buoyant mood after the opening two rounds.

Aboard the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale Rs, 39-year-old Byrne, from Sittingbourne, and his 26-year-old team-mate Irwin from Carrickfergus, arrive at the tight and twisty Indy circuit having both scored points in all four races to date.

Indeed Byrne, who can count on partisan support as always at his local track, occupies second place in the points table despite not managing a podium last time out at Oulton Park so he’ll be keen to grab his first victory of the year which would constitute a 69th career win.

But despite his six wins around the Indy circuit to date, he knows he’s not going to have it all his own way but consistency has always been the policy for the record breaking four-times champion who has also finished runner-up twice in the past four seasons for Paul Bird’s Cumbrian-based team.

MCE BSB rookie Irwin, meanwhile, continues his steep learning curve and overcame the handicap of a technical problem in qualifying at Oulton Park which saw him start at the back of the grid. Showing maturity with every outing, the former Supersport Cup champion even diced with Byrne in the mixed conditions three weeks ago and is hoping to improve on his 12th place which he holds in the title race currently.

Shane Byrne: 

“I didn't get to celebrate my 300th MCE BSB start in the way I’d hoped at Oulton Park three weeks ago so I need to be challenging for the wins this weekend at my home track. Neither I nor the team go racing for sixth place so hopefully this weekend we can turn it around. It's fair to say that the bike is all new to us as a team and there's lots of development and learning to do still but we're winners and are only happy when we're winning!”

Glenn Irwin: 

“I’m looking forward to making further progress at Brands Hatch this weekend. Every time we ride we close the gap to the front and that's this week’s objective as we proved at the last round, despite the problems we had, the bike and me are now capable of good results. I’ve worked hard since Oulton Park and hope we can have a good weekend once we get out on track.”

Championship Points (after two rounds)

1 Iddon 72pts
2 Byrne 58
3 Laverty 56
4 Haslam 52
5 O’Halloran 44
6 Cooper 41
12 Irwin 13